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Cloudflare wants AI companies to pay up. The cloud infrastructure provider, which powers around 20% of the web, is launching a new experiment that would let publishers charge AI firms every time their bots scrape a site. It’s called Pay per Crawl, and it could reshape how content is accessed and monetized online. Today on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec and Max Zeff dig into Cloudflare’s big swing, why it’s a natural next step after a year of laying groundwork for bot-blocking tools, and whether the plan to sit at the center of a pay-for-content protocol is genius… or…
Earlier this week, Instagram Threads launched what the company said was its most-requested feature to date: direct messages (DMs). However, the company is now facing a bit of a user backlash over the addition, as users, primarily women, are arguing that there should be a way to opt out of DMs entirely, citing harassment concerns. Although DMs are a part of other social networks similar to Threads, including X, Bluesky, Mastodon, and others, some Threads users appreciated that they were not an option previously. “I don’t want to receive DM’s. How do I shut this thing off? I ask on…
Brisbane, Australia CNN — Two alleged fraudsters accused of swindling an elderly woman out of tens of thousands of dollars in cash have been arrested by Australian police investigating a spate of “Chinese blessing scams.” Chinese blessing scams have been reported worldwide for the last 25 years or so, including in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand. Offenders typically target elderly Asian women and convince them that a member of their family is cursed or in danger. Victims are told the only way to ward off negative spirits is to have their wealth blessed. “It’s a…
Republican legislators Thursday passed a reconciliation act that, among other things, unwinds much of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The bill, which passed 218-214 with two Republicans voting no, now awaits President Donald Trump’s signature. Trump is expected to sign it. Solar, wind, and clean hydrogen will all lose incentives under the new bill, while nuclear and geothermal see some IRA benefits preserved. The final bill is largely what emerged from the Senate Finance Committee in mid-June, though the current version offers slightly longer timelines to claim clean energy tax credits than the committee draft. Solar and wind developers, to…
LONDON (AP) — Oasis is due to take to the stage in Cardiff, Wales on Friday, kicking off a hotly, and somewhat anxiously, anticipated reunion tour.The return of the Britpop-era rockers after a 16-year hiatus is a major moment for fans. Will it be a storming success? Definitely maybe.Predictions are tricky when it comes to Noel and Liam Gallagher, the sparring siblings who give Oasis its charisma, and its volatile chemistry.“That’s one of the attractions about Oasis — they bring this element of risk,” said author and music journalist John Aizlewood. He said the “alternative aura that they have cultivated…
It’s an open secret in the fintech world that the founder and CEO of startup Increase, Darragh Buckley, has been trying for years to “buy a bank,” as one person familiar with the landscape told TechCrunch. A couple of weeks ago, he basically succeeded. He bought a big enough stake in Twin City Bank to trigger a public disclosure of the transaction by the Federal Reserve Board. Such share purchases are then subject to FDIC approval. Twin City is a small community bank in Longview, Washington, about an hour north of Portland, Oregon. The stake had to be in excess…
Reuters — India’s southern state of Kerala has found a unique ambassador to promote its coconut palm-lined beaches, backwaters and vibrant culture to tourists – a British F-35 fighter jet that has been stranded there since mid-June. The Royal Navy aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing at the airport of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram on June 14 and has been grounded ever since, despite efforts to repair it. An AI-generated image of the stealth aircraft parked on the tarmac surrounded by coconut trees has gone viral after it was shared by Kerala’s tourism department on Wednesday. “This was…
TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 is back at Moscone West in San Francisco from October 27-29, bringing together 10,000+ startup and VC leaders to dig into what’s next in tech. And when it comes to artificial intelligence, the conversations aren’t just technical — they’re creative, cinematic, and boundary-pushing. That’s why Nikola Todorovic is headed to the AI Stage. A visual effects veteran turned AI entrepreneur, Todorovic is the co-founder of Wonder Dynamics, now an Autodesk company. Alongside actor and producer Tye Sheridan, he helped launch Autodesk Flow Studio (formerly Wonder Studio), a groundbreaking AI platform that allows creators to seamlessly integrate 3D…
CNN — Russian strikes hit more than a dozen locations across Ukraine’s capital Kyiv overnight into Friday, including residential areas, a local official said, hours after US President Donald Trump said he had made “no progress” towards a ceasefire deal during a phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Eight people were wounded in the hours-long attack, which damaged multi-story buildings in two city districts, according to Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration. In the early hours of Friday morning, the Ukrainian Air Force said multiple missiles had been launched toward Kyiv and warned of a ballistic missile…
NEW YORK (AP) — Popstar Katy Perry and actor Orlando Bloom have split, multiple media outlets reported Thursday.Outlets including People and USA Today cited a statement that said the pair “have been shifting their relationship over the past many months to focus on co-parenting” and would continue to be seen in public with their daughter. The statement, attributed to representatives for both stars, said their priority would be raising their daughter with ”love, stability, and mutual respect.”The statement came a week after reports of the couple’s breakup swirled ahead of the wedding of billionaire Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos,…